INDIA INTRODUCES GUIDELINES FOR RIDE-HAILING APPS

By Joanna Sugden

HKT – NEW DELHI–India’s government has issued its first federal guidelines for app-based ride-hailing companies after almost a year of legal wrangling in the national capital over the legal status of Uber Technologies Inc. and others looking to establish themselves in the world’s second-most populous country.

The Ministry of Road Transport issued the new guidelines, which aren’t binding, to state governments since passing laws to regulate transport nationally can take a long time.

Under the guidelines, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, ride-hailing companies must obtain licenses to operate, but are freed from being regulated as taxi companies, which must maintain a minimum fleet size and parking space, among other requirements.

The guidelines are a boost for Uber and other app-based operators, such as ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd-owned Ola, which had sought regulatory recognition and approval after their services were ordered halted by authorities in Delhi in December. The ban, never effectively enforced, was imposed after a passenger said she was raped by a driver booked through the Uber app on the way home from a night out in Delhi.

The driver, who is on trial, has denied wrongdoing.

In response, India’s Home Ministry advised state transport departments to bar ride-hailing apps without licenses. Uber and Ola are now involved in court battles over licensing requirements. They are also trying to deal with a ruling by an environmental tribunal that drivers in Delhi must operate cars fueled with natural gas and not petrol or diesel.

A spokesman for Uber described the guidelines as “a big leap towards recognizing sector-specific regulations for technology-based ride-hailing services in India,” where the San Francisco-based firm operates in 22 cities, the most of any of its markets outside the U.S.

But the spokesman expressed dissatisfaction with some provisions, including a requirement for vehicles to have emergency buttons.

“There are things that need to be ironed out and edges that need to be softened and we can do that in the weeks ahead with state governments,” the spokesman said on Tuesday.

In a statement, a spokesman for Ola welcomed the guidelines as a “major step” forward for technology platforms.

A spokesman for the Delhi Transport Department couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. In the past, transport officials have said that Uber and Ola must refrain from operating while their license applications are processed.

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